What is a Continuing Resolution?

At press time, Congress had not completed work on the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, FY 2003. Instead, it has passed a series of Continuing Resolutions (CR) that keep DOT agencies open for business. In the case of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), most operations continue as normal. We have apportioned FY 2003 Federal-aid highway funds to the States and distributed obligation authority for the portion of the year covered by the CRs. This obligation authority allows the States to continue work on current and planned projects. In short, some FHWA activities may be temporarily affected, but these are just "bumps in the road," and not a change in direction. Most State transportation departments, academia, industry officials, and highway users won't notice the difference. In the longer term, the FHWA will continue to support the training, workshops, and other activities necessary to support our research and implementation programs.